Louis Pisicolo
Edward D. Miller
HON 301
May 4, 2017
Research Question:
How do we justly implement an algorithm that is programmed to take a life?
The Ethical Dilemma of Self-Driving Vehicles Society already has all sorts of forms of transportation, however, in the not so distant future many of these may be conducted solely by artificial intelligence and no human interaction at all. Dreams of implementing self-driving cars began as far back as the 1930s. It is only recently, in the 2000s, that self-driving vehicles have become a reality. We have already seen an increase in remote controlled delivery vehicles, drones, and trucks. Companies such as Google and Tesla are now working vigorously in designing a fully/semi-automated car for every
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There is no question progress has been made in the technology of self-driving vehicles, however, there have been a rise of complicated ethical questions that have yet to be answered. The main issues include: consumer trust and investment in a vehicle that is programmed to end the consumer’s life. And out of the many popular ethical systems, which should we choose to govern our roads? It’s a scary thought to put one’s life at risk, especially when it is your own. The brand new self-driving car brings with it a major moral dilemma. Will consumers be comfortable purchasing such a means of transportation? New research has found that people generally approve of autonomous vehicles governed by the utilitarian ethical system. Utilitarianism is when right and wrong is determined by the overall goodness of the consequences of action. In other words, what brings forth the most pleasure or happiness. When dealing with autonomous vehicles, the car would seek to minimize the total number of deaths in a crash, even if this means harming those within the vehicle. Even though the majority of consumers are on board …show more content…
Understanding how the self-driving car works is actually pretty simple. Typically, when humans drive we stay aware of our surroundings, road hazards, pedestrians, or poor drivers. However, due to our physical limitations, we cannot always prevent unforeseen tragedies. Autonomous vehicle technology stays precise and focused by using a combination of radar and lasers which monitor one’s driving lane and surrounding area (Palmer par. 4). To accomplish this self-driving task each vehicle is equipped with a GPS unit, a navigation system, as well as the aforementioned sensors, lasers, radar, and video. The vehicle uses the information from the GPS and navigation to localize itself, and the sensor data to refine its position as well as build a 3D image of its environment. This data is filtered to make certain decisions based on the vehicles varying control system. The majority of control systems are proficient in making intelligent decisions by maintaining internal maps of their world, and using this map to find an optimal path that avoids obstacles and arrives at a destination. Once the vehicle determines the best path, the calculations are broken down into commands, and are fed to the vehicles actuators. The purpose of these actuators is to control steering, braking, and throttle. This process of mapping, path
Since the industrial revolution, the field of engineering has allowed society to flourish through the development of technological advances at an exponential rate. Similar to other professionals, engineers are tasked with making ethical decisions, especially during the production and distribution processes of new inventions. One field that has encountered ethical dilemmas since its inception is the automotive industry. Today, the dawn of the autonomous, self-driving, vehicle is upon us. In this new-age mode of transportation, humans will be less responsible for decisions made on the road. With the wide adoption of autonomous vehicles, there exist a possibility to reduce traffic-related accidents. Even though computers have the ability
The term autonomous refers to the capability of acting independently, or having the freedom to do so. A self-driving car is an autonomous car, which has the ability to sense its environment and navigating without any human operations. These types of cars are built to make safe and smart decisions on the road. In the past years, automobile companies have begun to introduce advanced driver assistance systems that are capable of parking, switching lanes, and braking in case of an emergency on their own, without the driver’s assistance. Automated vehicles are capable of maneuvering through street traffic, as well as other natural and man-made obstacles along the way. Therefore, this technology might completely change the methods of transportation.
Imagine a world where you can get into a car, push a button, and go where ever you want to go without the hassle of driving. Several car companies, such as Tesla and Honda, have been rumoring about self-driving cars (also known as autonomous cars). The real question people ask is how do they work and when are they coming out? These self-driving cars work by including various sensors and cameras built into the chassis of the vehicle.
Under Kantianism it would be an immoral action, but frankly that is what I would do. If I was giving the programmer directions on how I wanted my self-driving car to perform knowing that it was a matter of saving my family or strangers, I would have to choose my family. Under Kantianism it would be immoral to sacrifice my innocent child to save three people whose actions were libel for the accident because according to Kant taking a life or in this case choosing to sacrifice the innocent child to save three lives is absolutely prohibited and therefore immoral (Ryan). The twist to this for me is if I was driving the car and had to make a decision in this to hit three people or hit a wall, I am not sure my decision would be the same because I am not sure it would enter my mind that it was them or us in that split-second
Self-driving cars are now hitting a few roadways in America, and are showing people just a small glimpse into what could be the future of automobiles. Although Google’s self-driving cars are getting a lot of attention now, the idea of a self-driving car has been around for quite a while actually. These cars have been tested to their limits, but the American people have yet to adopt the technology into their everyday lives. A brief description of their history, how they work, and finally answer the question, will self-driving cars ever be adopted widely by the American public?
Since the advent of autonomous technology, self-driving cars have been expected to be the best solution to optimizing daily commuting efficiency meanwhile significantly reducing or even preventing traffic accidents and fatality by rectifying and removing possible human errors on the road. As the deeper research goes on, however, the ethics of driverless cars become a major concern: self-driving cars must make their own decisions at any circumstances, which also means that such vehicles must be pre-programmed to respond ethically to certain emergencies. Concerning quite broad range of ethical issues, such algorithms should be rather convoluted. Without any perfect solutions so far, social expectation of ethical principles should be a logical
The goals behind self-driving cars are to decrease collisions, traffic jams and the use of gas and harmful pollutants. The autonomous automobile is able to maneuver around objects and create swift lines of cars on roadways (How Google’s self-Driving Car Works, 2011). The autonomous vehicle can react faster than humans can, meaning less accidents and the potential to save thousands of lives. Another purpose and vision for these cars is that vehicles would become a shared resource. When someone needed a car, he or she could just use his or her Smartphone and a self-sufficient car would drive up and pick him or her up.
The biggest one being how the car decides to handle unavoidable accidents. Himmelreich states in his article about self-driving cars, “My assumption had been that we would think about how a car should decide between the lives of its passengers and the lives of pedestrians. I knew how to think
In July 12, The New York Times reported a news: “Inside the self-driving Tesla fatal accident”, which again caused enormous debates on whether self-driving cars should be legal or not.
Finally, if an accident were to occur involving a self-driving car, the question of “who is responsible” is raised. This is a difficult question that needs to be addressed with laws that govern liability in these situations.
Technology is an ever-changing subject and has proved to be monumental in shaping the way a generation lives their life. With the rise of Uber and Lyft, automakers are racing to make autonomous vehicles the number one choice of transportation. Will autonomous vehicles be the next big breakthrough for the next generation or will automaker struggle to solve the ethical quandaries? The country is pretty much 60/40 with this matter, with 64% of Americans feeling uneasy about sharing the road with autonomous vehicles (Simon). But are they not considering all the other factors dealing with the ethicality of these vehicles, and the possible benefits? Despite the controversies surrounding autonomous vehicles, they prove to be an efficient, safe and
Human drivers have instincts that cannot be duplicated by technology, but by that same token human error is not a part of a self-driving car. In addition, we also need to take into consideration the transition period, when there are self-driving cars as well as human drivers on the road. Humans can notice the other drivers physically signal to go-ahead, when at a four way stop sign or; offer an opening for the merging lane. This is an example of what human interaction is capable of, that self-driving cars will need to calculate in order to
It might be hard to see where the self-driving car could have issues with safety but an interesting question arises when an accident is unavoidable. The question posed is “How should the car be programmed to act in the event of an unavoidable accident? Should it minimize the loss of life, even if it means sacrificing the occupants, or should it protect the occupants at all costs? Should it choose between these extremes at random?” (ArXiv). This is a very interesting question surrounding ethics. I’m not sure if there is a right answer to the question, which could stall the self-driving car industry. Before self-driving cars are mass produced a solution needs to be found to the question about unavoidable accidents. Although this question is a problem, there may not be a need to address the problem. It is said that “"driver error is believed to be the main reason behind over 90 percent of all crashes" with drunk driving, distracted drivers, failure to remain in one lane and falling to yield the right of way the main causes.” (Keating). Self-driving cars could eliminate those problems entirely and maybe with all cars on the road being self-driving cars, there would be no “unavoidable accidents”. Safety is the main issue the self-driving car is trying to solve in transportation and seems to do a good job at
A self-driving car can be programed how to control the car when an accident happens. A well-known example of accident is that a self-driving car should choose to sacrifice either pedestrians or passengers when the car loose the control of the brake and there are many people crossing the street in the front of the car. If the car is programed to avoid attacking pedestrians rather than protecting passengers, maybe more number of people can be saved their lives and that seems ethical from a utilitarian perspective that thought was defined as “the act is right and moral if it bring “good” end” in this week’s lecture. Also, in this week’s reading, Mill (1863, p. 20) stated that utilitarian standard includes “the greatest amount of happiness” for many people. I do not want say that there is an order among people, but if the passenger on the self-driving car was a worldwide famous person and he or she was killed by the car’s program although many pedestrians could be saved, large numbers of people in the world might be grieve.
Technology is evolving faster than ever these days, however there is one technology that could revolutionize the transportation industry. This technology is called autonomous cars, also known as self-driving cars. Autonomous cars can be defined as a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment, and navigating without human input. Using different techniques such as GPS and radar, autonomous cars can detect surroundings, thus removing the human element in driving. This would have a positive effect in more ways than we could ever imagine. Research suggests that self-driving cars will become more abundant in the future because they will be more cost-effective, enhance safety, and decrease traffic congestion.